Swan in a hailstrom

I meant to give the Marwick area a miss, but the forecast was such that it seemed the easiest choice for a walk. The wee bus dropped me at the hide by The Loons. Wigeon, teal, little grebes, lapwing, curlew etc but nothing unusual there; excepting the weird call of a water rail. A mute swan was on a nest across from the hide and its mate was on the water nearby. A heavy shower of hail came through and really beat down on hide, birds, reeds and birds. I left the hide early to take photos in the hail and will post a couple on flickr. I went along to The Choin, then Sandy Geo where I made coffee in the lee of rocks, then along the cliffs of Marwick Head and to the Earl's Palace in Birsay, where the wee bus picked me up together with three others; a woman, her mother and her father who had a collapsible trike with paintbox on the carrier. It was difficult enough using a camera in the biting and strong north wind- I wonder how he managed an easel, palette and paintbrush. More here.